‍Commercial banks demand immovable security like property as security, which many emerging small and micro enterprises, now the most dominant economic activity, don't have. But all that could soon change in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said commercial banks are "stuck in their old ways of doing things and failing to respond to the needs of a highly ‘informalized’ economy.”

A new draft law could be about to shake things up.

“It’s going to unlock a lot of potentials in terms of access to finance especially to the SMEs and bottom of the pyramid people,” said Brian Zimunhu, managing director, Zimbabwe Microfinance Fund.

Micro-lenders who've been accepting immovable security for years gave some insights about how the new model works.

"If it's a cow then insurance kicks in so you know that my loan is secured by a cow which is secured in the event of anything happening to the cow then my insurance kicks in. Then coming to the other movable assets for a start the assets must have a second hand value but what we then do as a lender is to be able to discount the current value to a certain level which you think within the tenure of the loan even if there is loss of value it will still be able to cover the loan that you would have extended," said Zimunhu, the managing director.

Informal traders support the proposal but say the relaxed requirements could see a rise in reckless borrowing.

"There must be strict and tight vetting as far as people borrowing against their assets in the name of business and those borrowing just for the purpose of trying to buy food," Said Wisborn Malaya, Chamber of Informal Economy Associations. 

It will help deepen financial inclusion in a market where just a quarter of the adult population have bank accounts.